Ascension - Book Eight - Man x Man

Chapter 46 (M)

"Daddy's fine," I say into the speaker, slowly stroking Verando's hair as I sit beside him in the bed. His hand rests on the black and white fluffy dogs head, resting peacefully in his lap. I'm thankful for the dog, keeping him company while he recovered from yesterday's events. 

"I had a bad dream, that Daddy died." Darrius responds, sniffling still. "Uncle Stef turned off the TV but I saw him, why was Daddy fighting with that man?"

Sighing, I don't know if I'm making it worse or better by keeping this as vague as I could. The poor child wasn't even four, yet he knew about fighting and death. "Daddy was on the TV. But he's alright now. There were some bad men but you know that Daddy always protects us."

"I want to come home." Darrius whimpers. "I want to be with you and Daddy. I want to protect him, too."

"A few more days, baby. We'll come to visit you as soon as we can. It's not safe here, but.. hey, Uncle Stef said he was going to take you to the park today. Won't that be fun?" I listen to the frantic nose rubbing, he was so mature beyond his years, trying to be strong at an age where it was so unfair to expect that of him. I did what I could to speak to them every day, much as Xavier didn't understand, Darrius was so attentive to the tone of my voice. 

He keyed in on every note, noticing any trend that I was upset. "Tell Daddy that I miss him." He manages, "And I really miss the pancakes." I chuckle at the subtle hint that a Strigoi was not the best chef. 

"I'll have him call you as soon as he wakes up, we both miss you so much."

"Badger will help him feel better," Darrius responds, sounding more certain. "Is Badger there?"

A tactic to keep me on the phone as long as possible, I always appreciated his buisness-like run down of all the goings on. It never ceased to make me smile. "He is. He's a good dog, isn't he?" Darrius agrees quietly, I can almost picture the resolve on his face. It helped him to feel included that his wishes were being followed. "Tell Uncle Stef to send me pictures, will you take some pictures for us?"

"I will. Good ones." He giggles. "Silly ones!"

Chuckling, I shake my head. "I love you." 

"Love you more, Tata." He hangs up and I sigh shakily as I kiss the top of Verando's head. 

"I know it kills you to not talk to him," I murmur against his soft hair, losing myself for only a moment in the delicious scent of my husband.

"It's better this way, he would hear it and demand to come home. We can't risk him deciding to just appear here. It's all over if he realizes how much control he has." Verando casually strokes the collie's head. Badger wags his tail quietly, staring at us with doctor-like concern. "You are a good dog." He reassures as the black and white tail speeds up. 

The dog had been a godsend, really. A piece of reality that had become a stable part of his days. Badger was therapeutic, grounding, and practiced all the necessary points of contact that lycans found so comforting. He had no other job than to keep my husband company, and he did it with undying devotion. I try not to think about the creature's age, surely it was getting up there with the white flecks surrounding the markings on his face. 

Glancing up at me, Verando reaches up to brush the side of my face with the back of his fingers. I catch his hand in my own, threading my fingers through his as I kiss his palm. "How long do I have to be on lockdown?"

Lifting the covers, I check his ribs, noting the bruising had greatly faded. "Forever. Until both Caspians are long gone?" My gaze settles on the scars across his chest that I'd stained black with the seal. "This scares the hell out of me. Does it hurt?"